The Sri Lankan immigration department on Sunday detained Australian Greens party Senator Lee Rhiannon and New Zealand MP Jan Logie, minutes ahead of a press conference they were scheduled to address here. Ms. Rhiannon and Ms. Logie were in Sri Lanka, reportedly on a fact-finding mission. They travelled to the country’s Northern Province — which was shattered during the civil war — and on Sunday.
70 pc voting in Naxal-affected areas of Chhattisgarh
Seventy per cent voting was recorded across 18 constituencies of Bastar and Rajnandgaon till 3 p.m. in the first phase of Assembly election in Chhattisgarh, where violence by Naxals who have called for a poll boycott left a CRPF jawan dead.
Naxals ambushed a team of election personnel when they were returning after conclusion of polling in Katekalyan area of Dantewada district in south Chhattisgarh, killing Central Reserve Police Force jawan B Joseph of 186 battalion.
Also, over ten bombs, including a 10 kg pipe bomb, were recovered and a policeman was injured in a bomb attack by Naxals since morning.
“So far, around 70 per cent polling has been registered,” Joint Electoral Officer D D Singh told PTI.
Amid tight security, polling in thirteen Naxal-affected constituencies of Bastar and Rajnandgaon concluded at 3 p.m., while in other five constituencies of Rajnandgaon, it will conclude by 5 p.m.
Voting, however, failed to start in two `hyper-sensitive’ polling booths -- Durgapur and Sitram -- in Kanker district as polling officials could not reach there owing to Naxal resistance.
Ultras also looted EVM machines when a polling party was heading to their destination in Durgapur.
Two polling booths in Panidobir area of Kanker were relocated to Gudabeda in Antagarh area due to Naxal threat.
Rajendra Mahapatra, a presiding officer at Balinga polling booth of Kondagaon district, died of heart attack this morning, the official said. Another official was deputed there.
A pipe bomb was recovered from Murkinar area of Bijapur district. Eight bombs were recovered in Mangnar area and two in Kuwakonda area of Dantewada district during de-mining.
Tiffin bombs were recovered in Orcha area of Narayanpur district and a bomb in Kanker district, police sources said.
A police personnel was injured when a ‘pressure bomb’ set by Naxals exploded in Kanker.
Encounters between security forces and Maoists were also reported near a few polling booths in Dantewada and Bijapur districts of south Chhattisgarh.
A total of 143 candidates from 12 constituencies are in the fray in Bastar division and six constituencies of Rajnandgaon district, which together account for an electorate of 29,33,200, in the first of the two-phase polls to the 90-member Assembly.
Maximum number of candidates have been fielded in Rajnandgaon and Jagdalpur (14 each).
The fate of Chief Minister Raman Singh, who is hoping for a hat—trick this time, and three of his ministers -- Kedar Kashyap, Lata Usendi and Vikram Usendi -- would be decided in today’s polling. Singh is contesting from Rajnandgaon.
In some places, relatives of victims of Naxal attack on Congress convoy in Jiram valley are in the fray.
Of the total 4,142 polling booths set up for the first phase, 1,517 are deemed `sensitive’ while 1,311 are deemed `hyper-sensitive’
Last time, of the 18 seats, BJP had won 15 while Congress had won three.
The remaining 72 constituencies, including Bilaspur and state-capital Raipur, would go to polls on November 19.
Govt will look into CBI’s legality: Manmohan
Observing that investigating agencies have been increasingly enquiring into administrative decisions and policy matters, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh here on Tuesday counselled police organisations against labelling the “decisions taken with no ill-intention within the prevailing policy” as criminal conduct.
The statement comes days after the Prime Minister’s Office issued a detailed release defending the Prime Minister’s approval to the Coal Ministry’s decision to overturn a screening committee’s recommendation and accommodate industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla’s company Hindalco, granting it an additional mining block in Odisha. The allocation is now under the Central Bureau of Investigation scanner for alleged corruption.
Speaking at the opening of a three-day international conference on “Evolving Common Strategies to Combat Corruption and Crime” organised by the CBI as part of its golden jubilee celebrations, Dr. Singh said cases of administrative decisions and policy making matters required great care in investigations.
“While actions that prima facie show mala fide intent or pecuniary gain should certainly be questioned, pronouncing decisions taken with no ill-intention within the prevailing policy as criminal misconduct would certainly be flawed and excessive. Policy-making is a multi-layered and complex process in the government, and will increasingly become more so, and therefore I don’t think it would be appropriate for a police agency to sit in judgment over policy formulation, without any evidence of mala fide,” he said.
The Prime Minister advocated drawing lines of confidence between investigating agencies and honest executive functionaries to ensure that “public servants are not paralysed in taking effective decisions based on their own sound judgment and on the apprehension of an ill-informed inquiry or investigation”.
Outlining that “protection of the honest” is a facet of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, Dr. Singh said it is this in view that the Prevention of Corruption Act (Amendment) Bill, 2013, has been introduced in Parliament, to amend a provision that presently criminalises, even in the absence of any mens rea (guilty mind), any action of a public servant that secures for any person a pecuniary advantage.
Referring to the recent Gauhati High Court judgment pronouncing institution of CBI as unconstitutional, which has been stayed by the Apex Court, the Prime Minister assured the agency that the Government would look into the matter promptly. “This is a matter that will undoubtedly have to be considered also by the highest court in the land. The Government will do all that is necessary to establish the need for the CBI and its legitimacy, and protect its past and future work,” he said.
On the growing demand for autonomy to the CBI, the Prime Minister said the agency was part of the Executive, adding: “We should be able to clearly distinguish between operational autonomy and the rules of oversight, supervision and control in organisational and institutional matters that are normal for public bodies of the Executive funded by public money.”
The conference will cover the entire mandate of the CBI and not only anti-corruption efforts. The agency has initiated international and national experts from various fields, representatives of Public Sector Units, industries and non-government organisations for participation
A flawed approach to Montreal
In rushing to embrace the U.S. proposal to amend the Montreal Protocol on ozone depletion, New Delhi has neither helped multilateral efforts to tackle climate change nor ensured that the appliances industry gets access to viable alternative refrigerants
It is 1994, and less than a year to Assembly elections in Bihar. The Indian economy is on the mend but the benefits of liberalisation are yet to reach semi-urban and rural areas. Standing in the way of government efforts to boost consumer spending is a little known international treaty called the Montreal Protocol. The Protocol requires India — which ratified it in 1992 — to control and phase out the use of chlorofluorocarbons and halons, which are considered Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS). As a developing country, India has been offered a 10-year window to abide by its commitments to the Protocol.
‘Refrigerator or tiger?’
Reining in CFCs could possibly dent the consumer goods market in India: they are used as refrigerants in automobiles, electronic appliances, plastics and pharmaceuticals, among other applications. Of particular concern is the market for refrigerators, which has witnessed an unprecedented boom. Having acceded to the Protocol, the government has no option but to hard-sell it to the public. Maneka Gandhi — who as Environment Minister negotiated India’s entry into the Protocol — opts for a novel approach to the issue at an election rally in Bihar, in a constituency located near a tiger reserve. Ms. Gandhi — she would recall to the late political scientist Holly Sims — spins the story of “The Lady, or the Tiger” around to ask the crowd: “Do you want a refrigerator, or a tiger?”
Its impact on India’s consumer-driven growth notwithstanding, the Montreal Protocol was a much-needed instrument that addressed ozone depletion. The well-being of tigers is not directly linked to the decreasing volume of ozone in the atmosphere — but by comparing refrigerators to endangered animals, Ms. Gandhi simply sought to relate the importance of the treaty to laypersons.
This year, the Montreal Protocol is back in the spotlight. The United States and other developed countries are leading an effort to bring hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) within the ambit of the treaty. India, which has scrupulously adhered to its original commitments under the Protocol, is being arm-twisted into agreement. Cutting down on HFCs will deprive Indian industry of the only viable alternative to CFCs. Despite its potential impact on the economy, in an election season, the United Progressive Alliance has made no effort to convince the public why it is tagging along with the proposal.
The reasons are fairly clear: India’s negotiating position has not been borne out of some sense of responsibility to the environment. It has its genesis in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s promise to U.S. President Barack Obama — made both at the G20 meeting at St. Petersburg and during his visit to the White House in September 2013 — that New Delhi will not object to the West’s initiative.
The Montreal Protocol was negotiated in the aftermath of a stunning discovery by British scientists of a giant hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. This discovery in 1985 lent urgency to treaty deliberations. The Protocol owes its success to a sharply defined objective — to stem further ozone depletion. To this end, the treaty identifies the class and category of halons and CFCs that need to be regulated.
The West’s current proposal to sweep HFCs under the Montreal Protocol runs contrary to established principles of international law. In fact, it defeats the very purpose of the Protocol. HFCs do not harm the ozone layer. However, they contribute substantially to greenhouse gas emissions and thus, climate change. Since HFCs gained currency as an alternative to CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances, the West has argued, they too should be regulated under the Protocol. A treaty may have unintended consequences, but to amend it to tackle them all is neither feasible nor desirable. If it is found that conventional warfare has been on the rise on account of the absolute ban on nuclear weapons, should the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty be amended to impose limits on defence budgets of countries?
Bringing HFCs under the Montreal Protocol, some have argued, serves the larger goal of tackling climate change. But regulating the only commercially viable alternative to ODS is likely to encourage non-compliance from the Protocol. In any event, history suggests the West’s proposal is not solely driven by noble intentions.
In return for its consent, India has been promised financial and technical assistance to phase out HFCs. The U.S. offered exactly the same carrot when the Protocol was negotiated two decades ago. Although a Multilateral Fund was set up to provide support for developing countries, its quantum was subject to much dispute. While India sought $1 billion for the Fund, the West offered merely $240 million in the interim period between 1991-93, with additional pledges to follow. As of 2010, $2.7 billion had been pledged. Here is a figure to put that amount in perspective: the refrigerator market in India alone is valued at $1.8 billion.
While negotiating the Protocol, India was sceptical about claims of technology transfer, so the Environment Ministry sought to make it “mandatory.” Alternative technology was concentrated in the hands of private players in the West, India argued, and the treaty had to compel them into sharing it with developing countries. Industrialised nations, as the then chief U.S. negotiator Richard Benedick recalls in his memoir Ozone Diplomacy, saw this demand as “environmental blackmail.” The “mandatory transfer” provision failed to materialise after China softened its stance. India was projected as a holdout to the Protocol, which increased pressure on the government to ratify it.
The result? Companies like DuPont — which influenced the U.S. position on the Protocol — and Daikin made windfall profits by tapping into emerging markets with their patented substitutes to CFCs. Similarly, western companies stand to gain most if HFCs are to be phased out under the Protocol. The U.S. holds most of the patents for alternative hydrocarbon and magnetic refrigerants. These technologies, which have not seen wide commercial usage in developing countries, could be prohibitively expensive.
Meanwhile, India has once again been called out for “stalling” the proposal to amend the Protocol. The Hindu has reported how, at the Bangkok conference to review the working of the Protocol recently, the Indian delegation objected to the setting up of a “contact group” on HFCs. The Ministry of Environment and Forests is keen to address HFCs within the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. But setting a target to reduce HFCs under the Framework will lead to similar demands for other greenhouse gases, something the U.S. steadfastly opposes. HFCs are potent compounds but their contribution to climate change is currently minuscule compared to that of CO2 emissions. Tweaking the Montreal Protocol not only frees the U.S. from any commitment on other greenhouse gas emissions, but also works to favour its companies.
Phasing down HFCs
The Ministry has been thrown under the bus after the Prime Minister agreed — during his U.S. visit — to set up an Indo-U.S. Task Force to discuss “phasing down” HFCs under the Protocol. India’s negotiating position at climate talks have, regrettably, been held hostage to the Prime Minister’s foreign policy legacy.
If the Montreal Protocol is amended to include HFCs within its scope, India and other developing countries have no option but to import expensive and largely untested technology from the West. The government has proposed to allow for compulsory licensing to make it accessible to domestic players. Two wrongs, however, do not make a right. For starters, New Delhi will find it difficult to justify granting compulsory licences — regarded as an emergency measure — for green technology under the TRIPS regime. Second, compulsory licences are only going to serve the interests of big Indian companies which have the wherewithal to manufacture alternative refrigerants cheaply and on an industrial scale.
India’s accession to the Montreal Protocol offers a few lessons for this government. While it negotiated the terms of the Protocol during the late 1980s, it did not join as an original signatory. India adopted a negotiation strategy aimed at securing financial assistance in addition to a “grace period” to phase out CFCs. With the wisdom of hindsight it is clear that developed countries are not going to pay for the damage they have caused to the ozone layer. This does not dilute the imperative of tackling climate change — rather than rushing to embrace the U.S. position on the Montreal Protocol, India should stick to its original demand to address all greenhouse gas emissions through the UNFCC. At the U.N. climate talks, India’s commitment to stringent emission norms must doubtless be coupled with a legally binding assurance of technology transfer.
Honeywell appoints Maheshwari as president of India operations
Honeywell on Monday announced the appointment of Jim Bujold as President, Southeast Asia, and Anant Maheshwari as President, Honeywell India.
Mr. Maheshwari, who has been the Managing Director of Honeywell Automation India Limited (HAIL) since March 2010, will succeed Bujold, who is currently president, Honeywell India, the company said in a release.
Both Bujold and Maheshwari will transition into their new roles on January 1, 2014.
Honeywell is a Fortune 100 company that develops and manufactures technologies to address some of the world’s toughest challenges linked to global macrotrends like energy efficiency, clean energy generation, safety and security, globalisation and customer productivity.
Each of the company’s four businesses — aerospace, performance materials, and automation and control solutions and technologies and transportation systems — has a significant presence in India.
“These senior leadership changes reflect not only a robust leadership talent pipeline, but also our relentless focus on achieving an outstanding growth trajectory in our High Growth Regions (HGRs),” Honeywell president of Global High Growth Regions Shane Tedjarati said.
As president, Honeywell, Southeast Asia, Mr. Bujold will oversee the company’s operations in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines.
Mr. Maheshwari has spent close to a decade in Honeywell in a number of leadership roles of increasing responsibilities.
Both will partner with Honeywell’s businesses to seek new growth opportunities and identify potential synergies in the region.
The company also named Vikas Chadha as Managing Director, HAIL, effective January 1, 2014.
HAIL is an approximately $300 million company listed on BSE and NSE and Honeywell’s largest entity for its Automation and Control Solutions (ACS) business in India.
Mr. Chadha is currently Regional General Manager for ACS’ Honeywell Building Solutions business in India.
HPCA to build museum in honour of Tendulkar
Not to be left behind in honouring retiring icon Sachin Tendulkar, the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association on Monday announced that it will pay tribute to the legendary batsman by dedicating a museum to him in the HPCA premises.
“It gives us immense pleasure to announce that HPCA would be celebrating retirement of mastero Sachin Tendulkar from international cricket by dedicating a cricketing museum at Dharamshala in his honour,” the HPCA said in a statement.
The decision was taken after the HPCA’s executive meeting in Dharamsala.
“It is a small tribute by the cricket association to the greatest son of Indian cricket, who has inspired generations of cricketers across the world,” said HPCA President Anurag Thakur.
“This is another feather in the cap of the HPCA, which is committed to providing and developing world class infrastructure in Himachal. The museum would become a great centre of attraction for all the visitors who come to visit the picturesque HPCA stadium,” he added.
The museum would have the details of Indian cricketing history and the players who have contributed to the development or brought glory to the country.
The executive meeting also discussed the recent court stay it managed to get after the HPCA was taken over by the State government in a midnight coup some days back.
Reprieve, for now
Policymakers must be heaving a big sigh of relief at the decision of ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P), to retain India’s sovereign rating at ‘BBB –,’ with a negative outlook. The skidding rupee, a high current account deficit (CAD), weakening GDP growth and rising inflation had set off fears of an imminent downgrade of the country’s sovereign rating. A downgrade would have taken India to below investment grade, which would have put off prospective investors and also raised borrowing costs for Indian companies abroad, compounding the existing problems. If this dire scenario did not play out, it is thanks mainly to the measures initiated by the Reserve Bank of India and the government to support the rupee and rein in CAD through a tight squeeze on non-essential imports. A simultaneous pick-up in exports and revival in FII fund flows, following the decision of the U.S. Federal Reserve to continue with its monthly bond-buying programme, certainly helped improve the external environment. Interestingly, S&P notes that “India’s external position is an element of strength for the rating,” a far cry from the situation just a few weeks ago. Yet, the fact is that the risk of downgrade has been seen off only temporarily, as the ratings agency has itself acknowledged in its report.
There still are several adverse economic variables for policymakers to be worried about. With the CAD now under check, the focus has shifted to the fiscal deficit and the question of whether the government will be able to stick to the target of 4.8 per cent of GDP for 2013-14 considering that elections are round the corner. Reining in subsidies on petroleum products and fertilizers is crucial to meeting the fiscal deficit target, but as we get closer to the elections it is doubtful if the government will be able to prune either. Added to this is the outlay on food subsidy, which S&P estimates will be as high as 1.5 per cent of GDP. Funding these subsidies would not have been a worry in an environment of strong economic growth but that is not the case now; the growth impulse is weak and both consumption and investment are at a low ebb. Falling demand has resulted in idling of capacities across a range of industries starting from automobiles to consumer durables. These problems acquire a different dimension when viewed along with the likelihood of political instability at the Centre post the general elections. And this is exactly the risk that the ratings agency is flagging for its negative outlook. A change in the outlook to ‘positive’ and warding off a possible downgrade would require a return of the growth impulse, resolute management of the fisc and stable monetary conditions — a tough ask indeed in an election season.
Surrender on CHOGM
Once again, foreign policy objectives have been sacrificed at the altar of political expediency. After Pakistan and Bangladesh, the surrender by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Congress to political opposition and a narrow regional view on Sri Lanka is not surprising, but it is disappointing all the same. For India, the two main objectives in its dealings with Sri Lanka are to ensure a just deal for that nation’s Tamil minority, and to protect its own interests in a region of strategic importance. The Prime Minister’s decision not to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting came after weeks of pressure by Tamil Nadu political parties, including a resolution by the State Assembly. But if the primary reason for staying away is to express displeasure at Sri Lanka’s reluctance to address alleged atrocities against Tamil civilians during the final battles against the LTTE, it is doubtful if the decision will yield a different, more positive outcome. More likely is a further erosion of New Delhi's influence on the Rajapaksa regime to effect a just settlement of the Tamil question. It was thanks to India's prodding that Sri Lanka held elections in September to the Northern Provincial Council, convincingly won by the Tamil National Alliance. This significant milestone in ethnic reconciliation has given Tamil-dominated northern Sri Lanka a popularly elected administration for the first time. Unfortunately, instead of projecting this as an example of constructive diplomacy, the Congress allowed itself to be blackmailed by its present and potential allies in the State. Political parties in Tamil Nadu virtually ignored the NPC election, giving rise to the suspicion that it is not the interests of Tamils across the Palk Strait that they espouse but their own, as in this election season it is easier to flog the emotional overtones of the issue than respond to more pressing domestic concerns.
A decision by Dr. Singh to go to CHOGM and include a visit to Jaffna would have been a powerful reaffirmation of New Delhi's stakes and interests in the region. India must now deal with the consequences of its decision to stay away, both on the Tamil question and on its own larger interests. In Sri Lanka, it will affect the task of reconciliation considerably, including India’s efforts to ensure the 13th Amendment is not diluted or done away with entirely. It is to be hoped that both countries will guard against any adverse consequences on people-to-people links, and India will have to manage the huge strategic and diplomatic fallout. It is debatable if Sri Lanka will turn into a Chinese satellite in the Indian Ocean as is commonly feared, but clearly, the island will be looking for other allies in the region and beyond.
